The Waitress from DC
by Girlsluvsuperheroes
Summary: Steve Rogers was a soldier who never left the war. The war he signed up for had ended, but somehow he was dragged into another. He could never go back to the life he had before, but somehow he was closer to that when he was with her, until he finds out the girl is more involved in this new war than he would like. Set after Captain America: the Winter Soldier.
1. Chapter 1

**All credit goes to Marvel! I only own my OC's**

The small bell rang in the corner café as a tall blond man walked in as quietly as possible and made his way over to the table in the farthest corner from the door. The man was Steve Rogers and it had been a few months since Hydra had been revealed within SHIELD and the Winter Soldier had disappeared. He looked around the restaurant before taking a seat facing the door. He always sat facing the door so that he could see if anyone entered and be prepared to take action if need be, but he also sat facing the door for another reason. The reason being that he could see the whole restaurant and people watch, that specific person being the smiling waitress serving the man a few tables away from him. The night Steve got out of the hospital, his friend Sam had taken him to this small café. Steve had wanted to just go back to his apartment and rest, but his new ally Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, had convinced him to go to the small café near his apartment before returning home.

The café was a small mom and pop shop that had been around since the 1950's and was now owned by the original owner's daughter, who was also a waitress at the restaurant. There were only two other workers and the food wasn't great, but they had some pretty good apple pie, if Steve did say so himself.

"Hey Steve," a waitress with short brown hair and deep blue eyes said as she made her way over to his table. Carrying a small pad of paper and pencil, she smiled and looked down at Steve. "Hello Emily," he said politely as he looked up at her. She was a stout woman in her mid-thirties with big eyes and was a short 5'2 with glasses.

"The usual?" She asked, twiddling her pencil in between the fingers on her left hand as she looked up from her notepad. He nodded and she smiled lightly at him before going back behind the counter and disappearing behind the double doors to the kitchen to put in his order. Steve noticed while she was twiddling her pencil that she had an engagement ring on her finger. "That boyfriend of hers must have finally popped the question," he thought as he looked down at his hands that were clasped on the table.

Steve slowly looked up from his hands to look at the waitress that was still serving the customer a few tables away. The girl smiled at the customer and tucked a piece of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear before leaning over and pointing at something on the customer's menu. She looked serious for a second, listening at what the customer had to say before straightening up and laughing, revealing her beautiful smile. Steve felt a pang of jealousy in his stomach before he heard the bell on the door ring again, signaling that someone had entered the restaurant.

Steve looked over to see Sam walk in wearing a brown leather jacket and a file tucked under his arm. His friend walked towards the table seeing Steve, but slowed when he saw the only other waitress at the restaurant bend over to wipe down a dirty table. Sam looked the African American girl up and down before smiling and heading back over to Steve's table.

The Falcon slid into the booth seat and plopped the folder down on the table so it faced Steve. Opening the file, Falcon began informing the soldier about the latest information on Hydra and the disappearance on the Winter Soldier, but all information found was pretty sparse. Steve wasn't paying attention anyway. He was too busy watching the waitress with the strawberry blonde hair who was talking to Emily. Sam stopped talking and looked from the file to his friend. "You didn't hear a single word I just said. Did you?"

Steve looked back at Sam. "What?" He asked, totally lost at what Sam had just asked him. The flier smiled and laughed before closing the file and leaned back in the plush material of the booth. "What?" the soldier asked again, still lost at what was happening.

"It seems I'm not the only one checking out the waitresses," Sam Wilson laughed again and Steve's eyes got about as big as saucers. "I always wondered why you enjoyed this place so much." He chuckled and grabbed his sides. Steve folded his arms across his chest and almost pouted.

"Your enjoying this aren't you?" Steve asked as Sam continued to laugh. "I am actually," the flier gasped out through laughs. Falcon hardly had opportunities to make fun of Captain America, and now that he had one, he was going to use it as much as possible. Sam's laughter finally began to calm down.

"You done yet?" Steve asked and Sam straightened up. "Haha, yeah. I'm done." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye and sobered up. "Good," Steve said as he opened the file again and began talking business, but Sam ignored him, wanting to focus on this juicy new information on Steve's love life.

"Dude, have you talked to her yet?" Steve shook his head, still looking at the file. Sam feigned shock and Steve looked up annoyed. "How often do you come here?" Sam asked, but before Steve could respond, Emily came back with Steve's "regular" order, a black coffee and a big slice of apple pie. The Captain thanked Emily and Sam watched her go before turning back to his friend who was digging into the pie. "How often do you come here?" Same asked again, leaning closer to the table. His eyes filled with a gleam that teen girls get when they find new drama. He looked very much like a teen girl trapped inside a man's body right now. Steve swallowed the pie in his mouth and looked back up at Sam.

"About every day I have off," he mumbled and Sam began to laugh again, but stopped when he saw Steve look back towards the waitress that he was staring at earlier. "You're serious about this girl. Aren't you?" Steve didn't respond, but Sam didn't need him to. He could see clearly that Cap was. "Well, we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" Sam said as he turned around and fanned Steve's waitress over to the table.

Steve looked bewildered at Sam's actions and leaned over the table to pull Sam's arm down. He was too late though, because Emily was already walking over to the table with a large smile on her face. Steve sat back in his chair, straightened up quickly, and looked away from Emily as he sipped his coffee. He hadn't acted this way around girls since before the war when Bucky had tried to get him dates.

"Can I help you?" Emily asked Sam and he smiled, a devious plan already forming in his mind. "I think you can," he said, looking at Steve before facing Emily.


	2. Chapter 2

All credit goes to Marvel and its creators. I only own my OC's, Emily and the smiling waitress with strawberry blonde hair

 **I'm so happy with all the favs and follows I got in such a short time. So thank you for all the favorites and follows! This is a new story and I don't have everything planned out, so if you have any suggestions, just hit the review button down below and I'd be happy to listen! Also, I have another story I'm writing that I also have posted, which is my first priority so updates for this might not be as fast as some would prefer it to be. The other story, "The Girl of the Wild," is a bit of a prequel to this, but not much so if you don't want to read it then it should be fine, but if you want more background on this story, you might want to read it.**

Emily smiled at Sam after he whispered something in her ear so that Steve wouldn't hear what he had to say. After giving Steve a devious grin, the waitress rushed over to the smiling girl that the Captain was so infatuated with. Steve looked up from his coffee mug to see Emily talking animatedly with the girl with strawberry blonde hair.

* * *

"What are you talking about? Why can't you serve that table over there?" She asked Emily as she looked over to the table that her friend was just serving. She looked at the blond man who was facing her, but only for a split second before he hid his face again with the large coffee mug that he was drinking from. She looked back down at her impatient friend who was really jittery so suddenly. "Emily, why are you acting so weird? Did you switch the decaf with the caffeinated coffee again?"

"Oh, never mind that," Emily said, bouncing on her heels and waving off her friend's question like it was a fly in the air. "I want you to take a break early and go sit with those nice guys at the table I was just serving. Oh, don't give me that look," Emily said as her friend furrowed her eyebrows and looked down on her.

"Emily, I can't just drop my job and go sit with those guys. I have tables to serve, and people to refill coffee for…" Emily waved off her friend's excuses again.

"Oh, pish posh. This place is barely busy and we're about to close in an hour anyway. The only people here is that man you were serving earlier, the old couple in the corner, and…" Emily turned around to stand next to her friend and pointed at Sam and Steve. "Those nice men right there. So get your lazy ass over there and go flirt," Emily said, pushing her unwilling friend toward the table.

The girl walked a few feet before stopping and turning around to see her friend throw her a thumbs up and a cheesy grin. The waitress turned around and rolled her eyes before walking towards the table again with a sigh. Ever since Emily's boyfriend proposed, she's been trying to set her up with someone, actually Emily's been doing this ever since they became friends.

Finally, and reluctantly reaching the table, the girl looked down at the two seated men. First, she looked at the African American man with the go-tee and beard. The man was smiling up at her with the same devious grin that Emily had moments before. Seeing the man look away from her and raise his eyebrows at the man across from him, her green eyes flitted over to the man behind the coffee mug. There was a silence as their eyes connected. Steve slowly put down his coffee mug, taking his eyes away from the girl for just a second to put it down safely on the table. But when he looked back, she was already looking away, instead focusing her gaze on the table. The connection was broken and silence carried back on in the café.

Sam got up from his seat and the girl moved aside to let him through. "I'll catch you later man," Sam said as he walked away, casting his glance back at the waitress with the forest green eyes. As he passed Emily he stopped. Leaning towards the woman he said, "They're not too chatty are they?" Emily shook her head and looked back up at Falcon. "We'll just have to change that won't we?" She asked. Sam chuckled and began to walk away.

Grabbing the handle to the exit, he stopped and turned around. Steve Rogers, Captain America, bravest man Sam knew, could jump into any fight and still come out swinging, yet he couldn't make small talk to any woman he had eyes for. Shaking his head, Sam turned back around, opened the door, and left the café.

* * *

Looking back at Emily, the girl saw her friend motion the girl forward with eyebrows raised and an impatient gleam in her eyes. Sighing, the girl rolled her eyes again before turning around and quickly sitting down in the booth. The man with blond hair and blue eyes looked up from the table and adjusted in his seat. Steve was surprised that she was actually still here, let alone sitting at the same booth as him. Usually the person would just leave in a huff. "But not this girl," he thought as a small smile grazed his lips and he turned his head to the side to look away from the table. "This girl's different."

"So, you come here often?"

 **Author's Note: Yay! Second chapter is up! I wrote this really late at night, so here's an apology if I made any typos. Anyway, I hate to be one of those writers, but I'm going to be anyway and ask you to please please please review and give me your thoughts on this chapter! I really appreciate your thoughts on this story to help me improve and encourage me to write more. Did I portray Steve and Sam correctly? Were there any parts that seemed confusing or hard to understand? Next chapter will be up soon. It's called, "Trouble"… *suspenseful music plays in the background***


	3. Chapter 3

**All credit goes to Marvel. I only own my Oc's: Emily and the waitress with the strawberry blonde hair.**

"So, you come here often?" The waitress asked and Steve jerked his head to the girl in front of him in surprise. "Sorry," she laughed lightly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "That probably sounded like a really cheesy pick up line. Didn't it?" A small smile reached Steve's lips as he chuckled and looked up at the waitress. Their laughter quieted down and there was a moment of pause before the girl stuck out her hand. "Rebecca West," she said, reaching her arm over the table for Steve. He reached his hand out and clasped her hand with a firm, but gentle handshake.

"Steve Rogers," he replied as he let go of her hand. "Well it's nice to meet you Steve," Rebecca said before looking down at where her hands were placed in her lap, tucking another piece of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. She didn't know why, but this Steve Rogers made her really nervous. She bit her lip and looked back up at Steve. She knew that Emily wouldn't let her leave this table until she struck up a conversation with this guy.

"It seems that our friends are trying to play match maker," she said, carefully watching Steve's expression as he looked up at her. He smiled. "It seems so," he said simply and there was another moment of silence. It seemed that this would be harder than she thought.

"So are you from around here?" She asked as she sat up straighter. The man stiffened in his seat a bit, and a slight panic ran through Rebecca. Had she asked a question a bit too personal? Steve noticed that she'd picked up on his uneasiness and knew that if he didn't say anything quick, he might miss his chance to actually talk to her. "No," he said, catching the waitress's attention. "I'm originally from Brooklyn." He said, and Rebecca smiled at him. She was happy that he'd actually said more than three words to her. Maybe she was actually getting somewhere.

"Are you from here?" He asked, inclining forward.

"Yeah," she replied. "My parents lived here for my whole life." Even if she wanted to, Rebecca couldn't say anything more without letting something out that she wouldn't want the man sitting across from her to know. At least, not until she knew him a bit more. Steve noticed, but he wasn't going to pry. He knew how it felt to have someone continue to question you on things you didn't want to answer. "So," she said, clearing her throat. She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. Smiling, she asked him, "If you're originally from Brooklyn. What brings you here to Washington? I'm sure it's not our amazing apple pie." She was taunting with him, he realized. Rebecca had noticed that he ordered the apple pie every time he came to the café. What he didn't realize is that she had noticed he came in almost every day, sat at the same booth in the same seat, and ordered the same thing, each time staying more than required.

Steve leaned forward, deciding to accept Rebecca's challenge. "Actually," he said, looking around before facing her again. "That's classified," he whispered in a serious tone. Rebecca's face went blank and somehow she was speechless. That almost never happened. Rebecca always had something to say, yet in just that short amount of time, in that small amount of words, he had silenced her.

The two looked at each other, their faces just inches away from each other as they leaned across the table. Steve gazed at Rebecca. Her forest green eyes stared deep into his ocean blue orbs. Her hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail, that strip of strawberry blonde hair she'd tucked back moments before had fallen forward once again, framing her oval face. Freckles danced across her nose and cheek bones. Her eyes were slightly too close and her nose was a bit crooked, but Steve thought she was beautiful.

He had a strong jaw line and sandy blonde hair, but all Rebecca could think about were his eyes. His eyes were a deep blue and they reminded her of an ocean after a storm. His face was stern and Rebecca had often noticed that when she'd seen him, his eyebrows would be pulled forward in an intense focus, but now, seeing him so close up, Rebecca realized that his eyes revealed everything. But before she could notice anything more, Steve looked away.

That broke her out of her reverie and she leaned back in her chair. What had just happened? Before she could attempt to answer that, she heard a crowd from the corner of the restaurant. Seeing Steve look over her shoulder with his eyebrows pulled forward and an annoyed look on his face, she swiftly turned around to see a group of men in dark clothing and hoods terrorize Emily. "Great, they're back," she said in a low voice as she stood up and marched angrily towards the table.

That same group had been coming to the restaurant about twice a week right before it closed and terrorized the waitresses, usually Rebecca who served the table they always sat at. Rebecca had had enough. She rushed over to the men, with Steve red hot on her heels, and told the men to get out. Grabbing Emily, Rebecca began to leave, but the one closest to her stopped her. The man's greasy hair covered his glassy eyes and Rebecca could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath. The man grabbed her butt and she turned around to slug him, but before she could, Steve had already landed a punch.

A fight began. Emily hurriedly rushed to call the police on the land line behind the counter, but a thug followed her and reached over the counter to grab the phone. Steve grabbed the man forward by the ankles and punched him, knocking him out cold on the ground and then Steve began to fight another.

Steve saw Rebecca being held back, kneed the guy he was fighting and rushed over to help her as she struggled in the man's arms. The thug from before went to hit her, but before he could Steve pulled back his shoulder so he faced Steve and punched him, sending him tumbling back.

With her chance open, Rebecca stomped her heel into the toes of the man holding her. Letting go and grabbing his foot in pain, Rebecca twisted around, brought her knee up and hit him in his jaw, knocking him out.

After a few more punches and seconds, the sound of a police siren was heard and the men scattered. "Wow," Steve said as the last thug ran out the building. "The police sure did get here quick." Emily laughed and placed a hand on Steve's shoulder. He looked down at her as she looked out the clear double doors and told him that the police would have taken too long and the noise came from a sound on her phone.

"Nice!" Rebecca said, lifting her hand to give Emily a high five. But when their hands connected, Rebecca pulled back and winced. Grabbing her wrist, she said, "must have sprained it." Steve stepped up to stand next to her and delicately wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Dropping her other hand, she looked up at him. His eyebrows were pulled forward in intense focus as he examined the injury. He didn't notice that Rebecca was staring at him until he looked down.

"Since your injured, I can offer you a ride, if you like," he said, the little crease in his brow disappearing.

"Oh, you don't think I can handle it myself. Because I'm a woman, is that it?" she asked, sounded annoyed as she pulled her wrist out of Steve's grip. The Captain fumbled for words, and Rebecca dropped her angry face and smiled. "I'd love a ride. Thank you." She turned to Emily as Steve began to walk to the door. "Are you okay with locking up?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go ride home with your handsome new hunk of man slice you got over there." Rebecca blushed and turned to leave, thanking Steve as he opened the door for her.

As the pair stepped outside, a gust of wind blew by them, causing Rebecca's pony tail to blow to the side. She wrapped her arms around her chest, glad that she wore her jacket to work today. Steve walked around her with his keys in his hand and stepped up to the black Harley Davidson motorcycle that was parked right infront of them. Throwing his leg over the motorcycle and hopping on, he looked back to see Rebecca rooted in her spot. "Oh," Rebecca said, looking at the vehicle. "I didn't know you had a bike." Steve paused and looked at Becca before looking back at his bike with a furrowed brow and a worried expression.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay…" he said, but Rebecca stopped him with a wave of her uninjured hand.

"That's fine," she said, a smile reaching her face and a gleam in her eyes as she hopped on behind him. He passed her an extra helmet he had and heard her quiet thank you from behind. Hearing the click of the helmet's chin strap, he realized something. He'd forgotten about her needing to hold onto him. Before he could say anything, he felt her slender arms reach around his waist and clasp at his stomach. He felt butterflies in his chest and a slight churning in his stomach. "Is this okay?" she asked timidly as Steve cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said quietly, his voice cracking on the end. He cleared his throat again. "That's fine."

And with that said, Captain America roared the engine of his bike, kicked up the kick stand and drove Rebecca West home.

 **Author's Note: So thank you again for all the favorites and follows and a bit of a shout out to the awesome ILoveThee for my first review! So, how do you guys like Rebecca? She was a little hesitant on telling Steve about her parents. I wonder why that is. Anyway, did you like the little action scene with the thugs? Rebecca's got some moves, but gosh, I do hope her wrist gets better.**


	4. Chapter 4

Steve Rogers ran down the sidewalk, passing locals and tourists as they examined the monuments in front of him. He was running in the same place he always had, around the large pool of water, in front of the Washington Monument when he met Sam and the two had become friends. But Sam was gone right now, following up on leads on the Winter Soldier. Steve wanted to help look for Bucky, but ever since their fight in that helicarrier when it crashed, he couldn't bring himself to. As Steve was caught up in his thoughts, someone ran past him! This came as a major shock to the Captain, considering how fast Steve was. "Can't run faster?" The blur shouted, already several feet in front of him. Taking that as a challenge, Steve decided to pump it up a notch. He hadn't been running to his full speed before, so he could easily beat the girl. He usually wasn't one to be competitive with women, but it was clear to him that the runner wanted a challenge.

Running faster, Steve easily caught up with the woman. He looked over with a smile on his face, only for it to drop when he saw who the runner was. He should have known sooner with the unique strawberry blonde hair, but he didn't. Rebecca gave him a sly smile, before speeding off. "How fast is she?" Steve exclaimed. Running at his top speed, he finally made it up to Rebecca. She looked surprised at first, and reaching her top speed, she ran for a little bit before slowing down. Steve stopped with her and looked at her with a smile on his face. He didn't think he'd ever met a person as fast as him before.

"I didn't know you were so fast," he exclaimed, waiting patiently for her to catch her breath.

"I didn't know you were so slow," she teased, still a bit out of breath from the run. Steve smiled and placed his hands on his hips to steady himself a bit while he got his heart pumping back to its regular speed. "I've never seen you run around here before, and with your speed, I can tell that you're not new at running." Rebecca smiled and stood up straighter as she faced him. He was wearing his regular workout clothes, a gray muscle shirt and navy running pants, and noticed that she was wearing much more revealing attire.

"I'm not," she said, wiping sweat off her brow with her dark green tank top. "I ran a bit back in high school, before I quit. And I usually run around my apartment building, correction, **our** apartment building." She said, leaning towards Steve with her hands on her hips. It was true. It had been revealed a couple of nights ago when Steve had driven Rebecca home, that they lived in the same apartment complex, actually a hallway down from each other. Rebecca had been a bit frightened at first when Steve had followed her into the building, but calmed down when he showed her his apartment key, revealing that they lived in the same building. "Who knew!" he thought. "After all this time, we lived in the same building," he thought with a happy smile on his face.

"But thought a change of scenery would be nice," she continued, getting back Steve's attention. "What about you? Who knew you were the next Olympic athlete!"

"I ran a lot in the army," he confessed, stretching the truth a bit for Rebecca. He couldn't let just anyone know that he was Captain America, and although most might have been able to point it out, it seemed Rebecca couldn't and he'd like to keep it that way, for at least a little bit anyway.

"What unit?" she asked, now interested. Steve paused. He'd never been in an official unit of the army, and he hadn't anticipated for Rebecca to take such an interest.

"107 th," he replied, thinking up the first unit that came to mind, which happened to be Bucky's old unit. Rebecca nodded and the two began to walk. "So, why'd you quit running in high school?" He asked, looking down at Rebecca. She paused for a bit, her smile disappearing as she thought up an answer.

"When the coaches started taking an interest in me, saying that I could be the next Usain Bolt," she waved her hands in the air exasperatedly, mocking the coaches' excitement at her speed. Steve didn't know who this Hugh Sane was, (as Steve had thought his name had been called), but he guessed that it was a great Olympic runner. "My parents pulled me out," she said sadly, looking down at the ground before looking back at him. "I'm sorry to hear about that," the Captain said, trying to sympathize with the girl.

"It's okay," Rebecca said, shrugging her shoulders. "I never really was into the competition." She looked up at him, smiling with a sparkle in her eye. "I just love to run," she said honestly, causing Steve to smile at the pure joy she exposed when she talked about it.

"How fast are you? If you don't mind me asking," he asked. She furrowed her brows and thought, scrunching her mouth to the side before her lips pulled into a smile. "In high school I could run the 40 yard dash in 4.6 seconds. Top in my class," she said proudly. Steve looked at her with wide eyes and stopped. She stopped and faced him with a confused face.

"Remind me not to pick a race with you again," he said, causing a bubbly laugh to come from the petite girl. He got a small sense of pride at making her laugh. "Probably a good choice," she said happily and started to walk again.

"Um, I, uh," he stuttered and she stopped again and turned to face him. Steve rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I was wondering if you wanted to, maybe, uh," he looked up at her, a loss for words. She had another confused look on her face, but waited patiently for him to catch his words. "I was wondering if you wanted to go for coffee sometime," he rushed out, a slight blush coming on his face.

He looked up at her in hope, thinking by the look in her eyes that she actually might say yes. "I don't think so," she said and Steve felt something in his stomach drop. "No?" he whispered to himself as he looked down at the ground.

"But, I'll, uh," Steve couldn't get himself to look up at her, but he saw her running shoes shuffle awkwardly from side to side. "I'll see you later," and with that she was gone, running back down the sidewalk. Steve waited for a moment before looking back up, afraid that she might see the look of rejection plastered all over his face. He placed his hands on his hips again and looked around. There was no sight of her. "How is that girl so fast?" He pondered as he looked around again. An old man was next to him, sitting on a bench with his paper out, but he obviously wasn't reading it. He was instead focusing on Steve with a look of sympathy on his face. Obviously he'd seen the poor captain get rejected.

Steve patted down his hair and walked away with his head bent down towards the ground.

 **AN: Ouch, that hurt! Poor Captain, and why do I always end up posting late at night? Oh well. I'll try to post earlier in the day tomorrow for you guys ;) Anyway, what did you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

All credit goes to Marvel and its creators, writers, and producers. I only own my OC's: Rebecca and Emly and their stories.

 **Hello dear readers! So, last night I was re-reading my story, making sure everything looked right, and then found out that I uploaded my version of the chapter that hadn't been edited. Because of that, I had to go back and re-upload the fixed version of the chapter. So, for those who read my chapter right after I uploaded it, you might want to go back and read it again. Sorry about that!**

 **Speaking of my readers, I just want to again thank everyone who is reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. A special thanks to: soulsisterinaslan and ILoveThee for their constant reviews!**

 **ILoveThee: Yes, I am definitely planning on writing an AOU version of this story and am excited to see how it is received**

 **soulsisterinaslan: You'll just have to wait and see ;)**

"You said no?" Emily said exasperatedly as she looked at Rebecca. Her friend finished pouring coffee for the customer sitting at the counter and turned to her. Rebecca nodded her head and, placing down the coffee pot, went over to clear another table. "Why?" Emily asked, still standing behind the younger girl.

"I just wasn't interested," Rebecca said, taking the dirty dishes and walking behind the double doors to the kitchen. Emily scoffed as Rebecca grabbed a wet rag and went back outside to wipe down the table.

"What kind of girl in her right mind wouldn't want a piece of that guy?" She asked, but Rebecca just ignored her as she walked back to the kitchen, her friend still following behind her. "Rebecca," she said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Rebecca sighed and stood up, facing Emily, knowing a speech was about to flow out of Emily's mouth. "Becca," she said her voice now serious. "I know it's been hard for you since your parents died, but please, just give this guy a chance. He's obviously interested in you, considering how much he's been here in the past month." Rebecca sighed and placed the rag on the counter, trying to think up some sort of excuse to not go out with Steve. Before she could though, the bell to the entrance was heard, and in walked Sam, lugging the begrudging Steve behind him. Rebecca's eyes followed the two as they picked a table. In her peripheral vision, she saw Emily with a joker sized grin on her face. Groaning, the red head made her way over to Steve's table.

* * *

It took Sam forever to get Cap to this place. After their run, Steve had thought they were just walking back to their apartment, but had stopped when he'd noticed Sam slow down by the café that Rebecca worked at. "Sam…" he warned and his friend looked over at him, his hand on the door handle.

"Oh, come on man. You'll have to face her sooner or later," Sam said.

"I'd prefer later, if you don't mind." Steve said, turning away to walk back to the apartment. Sam let go of the door, ran after the Captain, and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door.

"Oh, I don't think so," he said, using almost all of his strength to pull the Captain into the café, not caring if people were giving them odd glances down the side walk. As they entered the restaurant, Steve pulled his arm out of Sam's hold, but still continued to follow his friend to a table.

Steve folded his hands on the table and looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with Sam, but most importantly with Rebecca. Sam was about to say something, before he noticed a certain waitress with strawberry blonde hair approach their table. The girl brought her fist to her mouth and gave a small cough, trying to get the captain's attention, but he didn't look at her. The poor girl sighed and looked back at her friend before looking back at Steve. Taking that as his opportunity to leave, Sam got up. He placed a supportive hand on the girl's shoulder, before making his way over to Emily.

* * *

Rebecca sat down at the booth and waited for the blond man to look at her. But he just wouldn't! She cleared her throat again, begging him to just look at her. She waited and waited and finally he looked at her, his blue eyes hesitantly making contact with her and for a second she forgot what she was going to say.

"About that coffee, um…" Rebecca took a breath to try and calm her suddenly racing heart. "I was thinking that maybe we could do that. Say, tomorrow, before or after work, whichever's good for you." She bit her lip. That didn't turn out the way she wanted it. The words just came out of her mouth, like she wasn't in control of her them.

Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was asking him out for coffee? Him, Steve Rogers, Captain America, out for coffee? "And now he's just sitting there," she thought, wanting Steve to stop staring at her and say something.

"Oh," Steve thought. "I still haven't responded to her," he realized, seeing Rebecca bite her lip and raise her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, that would be great. How about before work?" He suggested and she nodded.

"Sounds great," she said, getting up, before she turned around and looked at him. "My shift starts at five, so how about pick me up at say… 3:00?" She suggested and he nodded.

"That sounds like a plan," she smiled at him before walking away to attend to another table.

* * *

Emily followed behind Rebecca as she made her way into the kitchen after talking to Steve. "I saw you and Sam watching," she said, not turning around to face her friend. She sounded upset, and Emily walked in front of Rebecca to look at her as she put dishes into the dish washer. "What happened?" Emily asked. She was confused. She hadn't been able to hear Rebecca's conversation with Steve, but she thought that it had gone well. Why did Rebecca sound upset?

 **AN: thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**All credit goes to Stan Lee and Marvel and its creators, writers, and producers. I only own my OC's: Rebecca, Emily, and Marina (who will be properly introduced in this chapter) and their stories. Also, I think I picked out some actresses for these lovely women. So, credit goes to them too!**

 **Katie Leclerc: Rebecca West**

 **Candice Patton: Marina**

"Becca?" Emily said, her brows pulling together in worry as she leaned down to look at Rebecca who was bending down to put in the dishes. "What's wrong?" Rebecca stood up to her full height (5'6) and Emily mirrored her actions, still trying to get to the bottom of why her friend was acting so strange. Rebecca looked down at her blankly before a small smile reached her lips and she put her hands to the side of her face in embarrassment. Emily slapped her friend lightly on the arm for playing that joke on her, but couldn't be mad for long at seeing the sincere smile on her friends face.

"I'm so excited!" Rebecca confessed and Emily grabbed her arms as the two jumped up and down and giggled. "Ow," Rebecca stopped jumping and Rebecca looked down at her wrist with a frown. She had to remember to be careful with her hand brace before her wrist healed. Luckily, she had always been a pretty fast healer. She looked back at Emily who had a concerned look on her face before it melted again into a smile and the two women laughed. Their friend, Marina, the other waitress at the café, came in with a smile on her face.

"Why are you two so excited?" She asked, setting down the empty glass in her hands and walking over to the two. Quickly explaining the situation to her, Marina smiled two, embracing their excitement.

"Why are you smiling?" Rebecca asked, also noticing that her friend had a certain sparkle in her brown eyes, clearly not just happy because Rebecca had a date with a certain blonde haired man in the other room.

"I have a date with your date's friend, Sam," the 26 year old confessed with a shy grin on her face. Rebecca and Emily looked at each other before rushing over to Marina and developing her in a hug. The girls leaned back and looked at each other, a large smile on each of their faces.

* * *

Steve couldn't contain the smile on his face as Sam made his way over to their table. A smile was on the Falcon's face, as well, as he sat down from talking to the other waitress at the café, Marina, Steve believed her name was. "Why are you smiling?" Sam asked Steve as Steve looked up.

"The same reason you're smiling, I'm guessing," the Captain said cheekily. Sam raised an eyebrow with a critical eye at his friend before it dropped and Sam smiled.

"I asked her out to a movie on Friday," he confessed. "It looks like we both have plans this week."

Steve smiled, the muscles in his cheeks starting to ache. "It looks like." He'd never smiled so much before.

 **Author's Note: Yay! Happy Steve! Did you guys really think I would leave Captain America unhappy? I wouldn't be able to stand myself. I uploaded another page because you guys are awesome and you deserve it. What did you think? Also, have any suggestions for any actresses who could play Emily?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello dear readers! Yes, the update is finally here. I know it's been a while, and I left a lot of you waiting for more, but I started a tennis program at school. It's really fun, but very tiring and is Monday- Wednesday, so updates won't be as regular as you would like. But, hey, it's finally here, with a little more cuddles/snuggles for the lovely soulsistersinaslan.**

 **Disclaimer:** **Although it would be awesome, I don't own Marvel. All credit goes to Marvel's creators, writers, producers, and Stan Lee. I only own Rebecca and her story.**

Rebecca slowly brushed her flaming hair as she made her way to the vanity set in her bed room. She was in her small apartment, preparing for her outing with Steve. Her bedroom was relatively plain, with white walls and a connective bathroom on the right side of her bed, facing the door. Outside of the bedroom was her small den and then a kitchen passed that. There were no walls separating the kitchen with the den. So it gave a spacious look to the apartment, which was nice, considering how small it actually was. A knock was heard from the entry.

"That must be Steve," Rebecca said, putting in her last earring before looking in the mirror and flattening her hair down with her fingers. She had decided to wear it out of her regular pony tail for her coffee date with Steve. "Is it really a date?" She asked herself as she made her way to the door. He hadn't actually said the word. What if he just wanted to be friends, and she was overthinking this… What if- Her thoughts stopped when she opened the door and saw him smiling. It was the same smile that had caused her heart to warm days before and it seemed to have the same effect as she sent a wobbly smile back at him.

Rebecca stared up at him. She hadn't realized how tall he actually was before today. In all the times that she'd seen him, he'd been sitting down, except the night he drove her home. But she had been too busy fighting off thugs to think of that. His eyes gazed down at her, an unknown emotion flitting across the blue waves. "Eyes like the sea…" she thought dreamily before being snapped out of her daze by the slam of a door a few rooms away. That seemed to wake up Steve too.

"You ready to go?" He asked patiently.

"Yeah," she said, with her voice suddenly quiet, like it had been taken away by the wind. She stepped around Steve and locked the door to her apartment before turning to him. They made their way down the hallway, wordlessly deciding to take the stairway. A moment of silence passed them before Steve spoke up.

"We can take my motorcycle, if that's okay with you," he said hesitantly, looking over to her for confirmation. Rebecca smiled, appreciating that he had asked her. She nodded enthusiastically and Steve's eyes widened a bit. He thought she would have suggested riding in her car, but she didn't. "To be honest," Rebecca said stopping at the bottom of the steps as Steve opened the door for her. "Thank you!" She said cheerily and he smiled and nodded, closing the door behind them as they walked into the parking lot. "To be honest," she continued again. "I loved riding on your motorcycle. Speeding down the streets, feeling the wind hitting my face, blowing through my hair, watching the city lights go by, it had all been a bit exhilarating." Rebecca looked down, tucking back the same piece of hair that always seemed to fall into her face when she saw the intense gaze Steve was giving her. He couldn't help it. The woman next to him fascinated him. He'd never heard of a woman actually liking to ride on motorcycles, well, at least not one that seemed to have as much class as Rebecca did. Her hair looked even brighter in the day's sunlight as she waited eagerly by his bike.

He smiled before pulling out his keys and hopping onto his motorcycle; Rebecca followed quickly behind him and put on the helmet passed to her. Steve looked down when he felt her slender arms wrap around him. Her delicate hands were clasped together at his stomach, her nails painted a dark green color with a brace no longer on her hand. She was right when she said that she was a quick healer. He turned his gaze back ahead of him as a warm pleasure passed through him, and a small smile appeared as he pulled off the curb and onto the streets to their restaurant.

Rebecca hadn't said a thing on the bike ride and Steve turned around to see her with a smile on her face and her eyes closed in happiness as they zoomed down the streets. She wasn't lying when she said she liked riding on the bike and he told her that when they arrived at their destination. "Yeah," she said, a sheepish smile reaching her features. "I tried to convince my parents to let me get one when I got my license, but they had instantly turned it down, saying that it was too dangerous." Steve nodded as he opened the door for her, but was curious. He knew that parents were very protective, but he wondered why Rebecca's parents had restricted her on so many things, first the running, and now the motorcycle.

Rebecca sat down at their booth, Steve following soon in the seat across from her. He faced the door as he always did in restaurants, Rebecca noticed. The two made small talk as they waited for their waitress, and Steve continued to call her Rebecca. Most would have already shortened it to Becca, whether she had asked them to or not. She didn't mind people shortening her name, but the way Rebecca's name rolled off Steve's tongue made her smile and made her glad that he hadn't shortened it.

After a couple of minutes, a waitress finally made her way to their table. She had blond curly hair tied up in a loose bun and brown chocolate eyes. "My name's Amy. I'll be serving you today." She said, her eyes cast down to search for a pen in her apron. When she looked up, her mouth turned agape as she saw Steve, who was suddenly very interested in his menu, sitting at the table. Rebecca furrowed her eyes at seeing the strange encounter. "Can I get you something?" Amy asked, turning her heart shaped face towards Rebecca. The strawberry blonde headed girl smiled politely.

"We're just going to order dessert and some coffees, but haven't decided which dessert yet," Rebecca said.

"Oh, okay. Well, here are the desserts," Amy said, pointing down where the desserts were on Rebecca's menu. Rebecca nodded and smiled at her, trying to remain polite through the odd situation. The waitress nodded, before taking a quick glance at Steve and hurrying off. Making sure that she was out of sight, Steve put down his menu and let out a sigh of relief. Not able to contain her curiosity, Rebecca leaned forward and asked Steve what that was all about. Sighing, the man across from her quickly, and in a whisper, told her that the waitress had hit on him before and he had to tell her he wasn't interested. By the flush in his cheeks, Rebecca could tell that it had been an embarrassing moment for the blue eyed cutie. "Wait, when did I decide he was cute?" Rebecca thought, but the hormonal voice in the back of her mind had said that he was more than just cute. He was hot. H-O-T. Hot. Rebecca tried to push that voice as far back in her mind as possible as she placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. "Well, aren't you the little heartbreaker?" She whispered, feeling a sense of pride at seeing him blush cumbersomely at her teasing.

Rebecca leaned back in her chair and grabbed her menu. As she searched for a worthy dessert to please her pallet, she felt someone staring at her. Looking above her menu, she saw Steve gazing at her with the same glint in his eyes that he had when they rode his motorcycle the first night they'd officially met. She smiled at him, only her eyes visible above the menu. Steve felt a sudden heat rise on his cheeks and he looked down at his menu. "Her eyes are beautiful," he thought, glancing at her eyes once again. They had reminded him of a ride he had once taken on his bike. It had been a cool summer day and the sun had been shining through the green leaves of the tree tops. Steve smiled down at his menu. Rebecca West, the girl with the tree top eyes.

"I think we should share the tiramisu. What do you think?" She said, putting down her menu to look at Steve. He looked inquisitively at the girl, telling her that he'd never tasted that before. Rebecca leaned towards Steve with her mouth agape.

"Well then we have to get it!" She said in finality. The waitress soon came back and placed their orders, this time avoiding all contact with the blond haired man that had turned her down. "So, Steve, tell me about yourself." She rolled her eyes at Steve's expression. "Like you're favorite food, favorite movie…" Rebecca gasped, a smile coming to her face as she thought of an idea. "Your favorite color!" She leaned closer to him, an air of excitement around her. "Wait, don't tell me," she stopped him when his mouth opened to answer. She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, looking over at Steve with a sideways smile. She thought for a bit, placing a finger on her chin with her sculpted eyebrows pulled forward. Steve shifted in her scrutinizing gaze.

"Blue!" She shouted, pointing the finger that was on her chin towards Steve. He raised his eyebrows and thought. Yeah, he guessed his favorite color was blue. "Well, my favorite color's green," Rebecca said and Steve smiled. He wasn't surprised. Her nails were green, she wore green all the time, and her beautiful eyes were green. Amy came back and placed a coffee by Steve and a coffee by Rebecca, with the large dessert in the middle.

"Would you like cream and sugar?" Amy asked Rebecca, not turning to Steve. Rebecca looked toward Steve for confirmation before shaking her head. Rebecca thanked her and Amy smiled before going back to her other customers. Steve looked back at the girl with tree top eyes and raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"I didn't know you took your coffee black," he said.

Rebecca smiled and explained to him that she didn't always, but her dad always took it black and it had grown on her. She gave out a breathy laugh as she recalled the memory. "Mom always teased him, saying all that caffeine would kill him one day," her smile turned sad as she looked down at the table. Tracing her fingers along the rings of the wooden table top a sad laugh escaped her as a small tear ran down her cheek and landed on the table. Steve's smile dropped. He wanted to do something, anything to help the beautiful girl that was suddenly so sad. He reached out his hand and placed it over hers.

Rebecca stopped her tracing and looked up at him. The noise of the restaurant seemed to stop and Rebecca's heart seemed to start pumping twice as hard and Steve felt this sudden jolt go through him. The contact sent a strange sensation from her fingertips up to her arm, almost like static. She hadn't realized that Steve felt it too. He unconsciously started leaning closer, and so did Rebecca. Steve's eyes flitted down to Rebecca's lips, but before anything could happen there was an awkward cough heard from above them.

Rebecca tore her eyes from Steve and looked over to see Amy with a spoon in hand. "I, uh, forgot to give you an extra spoon." A small sigh escaped Steve as he leaned back in his chair. The blonde waitress exchanged glances between the two before heading back off. Rebecca gave a slight sigh before she picked up her spoon and looked over at Steve.

"Well, this dessert isn't going to eat itself." She responded, taking a gigantic bite out of the desert and swallowing it with her coffee. Steve slowly picked up his spoon and took a small piece before hesitantly putting it into his mouth. Rebecca watched him as he slowly chewed the piece. "How is it?" She asked.

Steve looked up at Rebecca with a blank expression, and she began to fear that he would hate it, but then a smile broke through. "It's really good!" he laughed, causing Rebecca to laugh too.

The two talked for hours, forgetting that they were only having desert. In any other case the waiters and waitresses would have gotten annoyed, but seeing the two so happy, no one minded. Rebecca taught him about eating tiramisu properly. This was, according to Rebecca, to take a bite of the desert and then wash it down with the coffee while the cake was still in your mouth.

After their waitress had asked another time if they need anything, Steve had asked for the bill. Slowly, the music in the restaurant changed and Rebecca's ears perked up. A slow smile spread across her face as she gazed at Steve. "I love this song!" She bellowed, slowly swaying to the rhythm of the song as she quietly sang out the lyrics. Steve leaned up and listened. The song had come out after he'd been put on ice, but he was slowly catching up on music, and he recognized this classic song.

"I didn't know you were a fan of Sinatra," he said, surprised, and Rebecca laughed.

"I know, I know. People at school used to always make fun of me at for listening to this stuff. Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, not to mention my love for Christian music," Rebecca looked down and played with her spoon. Steve's eyes widened as he leaned over to Rebecca.

"You're a Christian?"

"Yes," she said, confident, but the embarrassment not gone from her face. Steve smiled and told him that he'd been raised on a Christian belief, with a Christian family. Rebecca smiled.

"That's awesome! It's so hard to find cute Christian guys these days!" She rushed out. Realizing what she'd said, she covered her mouth. A blush rose on both her and Steve's face. The bill arrived and Steve pulled out his wallet to pay. Rebecca placed her hand over his, trying to convince Steve to let her pay for her half, but he quickly shut it down.

"What kind of man would I be if I didn't pay for desert for a swell girl like you?" He asked, and Rebecca smiled as they made their way out of the restaurant. She was surprised at his chivalry but wondered where he'd picked out a slang word like 'swell.'

 **Author's Note: Ugh, it's 3:06 AM and I stayed up all night to finish this chapter! So, you better like it! Jk, well, not really…** **The song that was played at the restaurant for this chapter is The Tender Trap by Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Guys I am so sorry it took me so long to update again. I've been really working on my other story, "The Girl of the Wild" and just haven't made time for this story. But, I'm here for an update, so please don't hate me too much! Okay, here we go.**

Steve opened the door of the café for Rebecca and they walked in. She grabbed her apron and tied it around her waist as she looked back at Steve with a smile. He was smiling and looked down for a moment before looking back at her. "I had fun," he said.

"I did too," the redhead said shyly, hoping that Steve would ask her on another date sometime soon, which he did. She quickly agreed and he smiled once more before saying goodbye and leaving. Rebecca sighed distractedly and turned around and jumped. "Oh my God, Emily, you scared me to death," she said, placing a hand over her racing heart. Emily tended to just pop out of nowhere, but seemed not to mind at all as she pulled Rebecca behind the counter and into the kitchen.

"You're late," the brunette deadpanned, looking at Rebecca sternly as she finally let go of the girl's arm. Rebecca got worried. She had been too busy with Steve to notice that she had arrived late. Was Emily really mad? They were friends, but Emily was also her boss. Was she going to subtract pay… or worse? Was she going to fire her? Rebecca began to panic before she saw a small smile creep up on Emily's face. "I'm guessing that means it went well?" She asked and Rebecca gave a relieved sigh.

"Yes, that means it went well." She said happily, telling her friend that Steve had already asked her to a second date. The shorter woman smiled and clasped her hands together, her eyes glowing.

"How exciting!" She said and Rebecca nodded, already focusing on getting her notepad and pen to take orders. Emily began to leave.

"Emily?" Rebecca called, causing the brunette woman to stop and turn around.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Rebecca said sincerely. "If it weren't for your convincing, I wouldn't have ever gone on a date with Steve, so thank you."

Emily smiled happily. "You're welcome, Rebecca," and she turned around and left the kitchen, still smiling. She was happy to finally see her friend happy. Emily hadn't seen her truly smile since the fall of SHIELD and her parents' death.

"This Steve is good for Becca. I know she blames SHIELD for her parent's death and I'm glad she finally has someone to take her mind away from the tragedy," she thought, but oh, how wrong she was.

 **AN: I know, I know, it's short, but at least it's here! SO, how did SHIELD cause her parent's death? Hmm… Please, review and tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

_This chapter is inspired by: Nice 'N' Easy by Frank Sinatra. I recommend reading it_ _before_ _reading this chapter._

It had been almost a month with Steve and things were going pretty well. Rebecca and Steve would usually spend a Friday together after a hard week of work, but sometimes Steve would be busy. He'd never really tell her why when she asked, but she assumed it was something with work. The problem was that she didn't really know what Steve did for work. All she knew was that he used to be in the army and he was a captain. Rebecca wanted to ask more, but she didn't want to push him. After all, they've only been dating for a month, and Steve never pushed her to talk about her parents, so she left it alone.

Rebecca was currently sprawled out on her couch reading when she heard a knock at her door. She looked up, wondering who would come knocking on a Sunday afternoon. When a knock came again, she closed her book and walked over. After unlocking the door, she saw Steve standing in the doorway with a tiny smile on his face. Rebecca was surprised. He'd been gone for a week without an explanation and now just showed up out of the blue on her door step. "What're you doing here?" The redhead asked coldly.

The Captain looked up, and his smile dropped seeing the anger in Rebecca's forest green eyes. "I'm sorry I left without an explanation." Usually this would be enough of an explanation for Rebecca, but not this time, and Steve knew it. He had to tell the truth. The Captain sighed. He wanted them to just have a normal relationship, but he knew, with whom he was, that couldn't happen. And they couldn't have a relationship at all if he never told her anything about himself. Rebecca shifted her position in the doorway, waiting impatiently for Steve to talk.

"I have a friend," he started. "Who I grew up with, and who helped me when my parents died when I was young." Rebecca nodded her head, encouraging Steve to continue. She already knew that Steve's parents were dead, but she'd never heard about this friend before. "We fought together in the war, and he disappeared in battle…" Steve cleared his throat and looked down. Rebecca could tell this was hard for him and she'd be okay if he needed to stop, but she knew that he had to get this out. That he had to tell her. There was a long pause, and Rebecca was about to invite him in to sit down, but then he continued. "Everyone assumed that he was dead." Steve's blue eyes began to turn red as they glistened with unshed tears. "And then he showed up a couple of months ago, but he was a completely different person and had no idea who I was." Steve voice was braking and it broke Rebecca's heart to see him so broken. She reached an arm out and placed it on Steve's bicep, trying to give any kind of comfort she could. "He attacked me, really badly, and it took a couple of weeks in the hospital for me to recover. When I got out, my friend Sam told me that he had disappeared again." Steve stopped and swallowed, shifting his eyes to look everywhere but at Rebecca. He knew that if he saw the sadness on her face, he wouldn't be able to control himself from breaking down. "Anyway, that's where I've been. My friend Sam and I have been out searching for him. Trying to bring him home." Rebecca lurched forward without thinking and wrapped her arms around Steve's waist and buried her face in his chest.

Steve hesitated for a moment before slowly wrapping his arms around his girl and pulling her closer.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged someone, but it felt… nice. He gave a quiet sigh as they pulled apart and his arms were empty once again. Rebecca looked up at Steve, noticing even more now the height difference between the two. Steve always seemed so strong and it was easy to forget that he was human too, and that he needed someone to care for him.

It was hard being strong all the time, and Rebecca knew that.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked, stepping aside and motioning for Steve to come in. He shook his head and managed a smile.

"Believe it or not, I didn't come here to cry in front of you," he said, giving a sad laugh. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go biking." He thought she would have instantly said yes, as she usually did when he asked to spend time with her, but she stood there in the doorway with a blank stare on her face.

"Rebecca?" He asked again, leaning down to meet her eyes that were just starring forward.

"Huh?" She said, snapping out of whatever she was thinking about. She jerked her head towards the blue eyed man, sending her strawberry blonde curls to the side. "No, yeah, biking would be fun. Let me just change out of my PJ's real quick," she said, looking down at her clothes before running back into her apartment. This would be the third time she would change today. Once before church into her dress clothes, then back into her PJ's, and now into some jeans to go biking with Steve. Steve chose to stay in the doorway of Rebecca's apartment as she walked into her bedroom and shut the door to change. When the Captain didn't hear the door click closed, he looked over.

The door hadn't closed all the way and Rebecca was facing away from him, changing her long sleeve shirt into a t-shirt. Her shoulders shifted under the bare skin of her back as she pulled the red t-shirt over her head. Steve felt a strange churning in the pit of his stomach and quickly averted his eyes to his boots, feeling guilty.

"Ready to go?" She asked, suddenly appearing in front of the soldier and Steve jumped slightly, feeling like he got caught doing something he shouldn't. Which he kind of did.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, let's go." He said, placing an arm around her waist and turning around to close the door behind him. Rebecca looked up and smiled at him, obviously oblivious to what happened just moments before.

"Steve you really don't have to carry me!" Rebecca insisted, shifting in Steve's large arms to look up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were bad at riding bikes?" He asked, not looking down at the redhead as he climbed the stairs. Rebecca sighed and looked away from Steve and folded her arms across her chest.

"I didn't want to… I didn't want to sound lame." Steve chuckled, and Rebecca would have punched him if it weren't for the fact that he was carrying her up a flight of stairs, which was surprisingly easy for him.

'This guy's just full of turn ons,' Rebecca thought dreamily and then a heat rose to her cheeks at the thought. Luckily they made it to her door before she said something embarrassing.

Steve stopped at the door and finally looked down at her, waiting for her to pull out her keys and give them to him. Finally handing them over, Steve unlocked the door and walked inside, Rebecca in his arms. This had been the first time he'd ever been in and he took in the sight favorably. Facing him was the living room, which was relatively small and had a cream colored plaid couch, a large floor mat on the dark hardwood floor, a coffee table, and a medium sized TV on a TV stand with CD's in it. Then to the right on the door was the kitchen and to the left was a door to Rebecca's bedroom.

"Steve… Are you going to put me down, or just stare at my apartment?" A voice said below him and he looked down to see Rebecca's tree top eyes staring back at him. He'd almost forgotten that he was still holding her. She was that light to him.

"Oh, right," he said, looking around to find somewhere to place Rebecca.

"You can just put me on the piano bench," she said, pulling out her arm to point at the large piano between the kitchen and the living room. Steve walked her over and placed her on the black bench.

" _The Unforgiven" by Scott D. Davis is the song Rebecca plays on the piano._

Rebecca smiled at him before turning and placing her hands on the sleek cover of the keyboard with a sad face.

"I'll get you some ice for your ankle," He said as he made his way over to the freezer to prepare the ice bag. The ice machine sounded as it filled up the plastic zip lock bag and Steve grabbed a towel and wrapped it up before heading back to where Rebecca was sitting. Her eyes were still focused on the covered keyboard, looking down at it with the same pained expression that Steve had whenever he tried to pick up a pencil and draw something.

"Well, my yellow hoodie is defiantly going to need a wash now," she said absent mindedly as she unzipped it and placed it on the ground. It was covered in mud from where she'd fallen off her bike.

Steve got down on one knee and pulled up Rebecca's ankle. She didn't even notice him begin to take off her tennis shoe until she whimpered and looked over at him. "Sorry," he mumbled, trying to be more carefully in removing her sock. She didn't say anything more and looked back at the keyboard. After placing the ice on her swollen ankle and elevating it, he got up and went to the other side to sit down on the bench with her.

"I didn't know you played," he said.

"I don't. Or, at least, not since my parent's died," she said.

Steve frowned and placed his hand over her hand that was placed on the sleek keyboard cover. "I was saving money to buy this for years, but never seemed to get enough. My parents surprised me one year by buying the whole thing," she said sadly, still not looking up as she ran her fingers over the black mini-grand piano. They waited in silence for a while before Rebecca finally pulled her eyes from the piano and looked up at him for the first time. Her green eyes were brimming with tears, and Steve reached out the hand that wasn't holding her hand and used his thumb to brush away her stray tears.

She smiled at him as he pulled his hand away before she looked back over at the keyboard and took a deep breath. Steve's hand fell away as she pushed back the keyboard cover and bit her lip. She took in a shuddering breath before placing her hands slowly on the keys.

"Would you like me to play something?"

"If you want to," Steve said, not wanting to push Rebecca into something she didn't want to do.

"Do you want me to?" She asked, looking back at him. He looked at her, and thought, before nodding his head slowly. Rebecca smiled at him, her beautiful green eyes still sparkling with a mixture of tears and newfound happiness.

She turned back and looked down at the keys before her fingers began to fly across the board, creating a beautiful song without memory to read from. The song drifted in the air of the apartment as her fingers drifted across the keys and she rocked back and forth to the beat. At first, she looked down at the keys to watch her fingers play, but then she began to fall into the routine of playing and closed her eyes, swaying to the music of the song.

Steve watched her the whole time as she played, creating the music so beautifully and peacefully. He was entranced, but not by the beauty of the music, but more by the beauty of the girl sitting next to him.

The music eventually ended, but Rebecca's eyes stayed closed as she placed her hands back in her lap and leaned back.

"That was beautiful," Steve said honestly.

Rebecca opened her eyes, and looked at Steve in surprise, like she'd forgotten he was even there.

She shook her head. "Oh please, I haven't played in months," she said, waving Steve's compliment away with her hand.

"No, really. That was really good!" He insisted with a smile, but then it dropped when Rebecca began crying.

He quickly wrapped her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. Steve was perfect for hugging. He had wide shoulders that could shield you, but a small waist that was easy to wrap your arms around. He was the perfect guy for a hug.

Rebecca's shoulders began to shake as she gave out quiet sobs. Steve placed a hand on the back of her head and muttered soothing things. "Shh… it's okay. Nice 'n' Easy," he said, rocking her back and forward. "It's okay. I'm sorry," he said.

Rebecca's crying began to subside and she slowly pulled away from Steve's embrace. He looked at her with so much love and so much kindness. How did she deserve someone like him?

"There's no need to be sorry," she said as she wiped away tears with the back of her hand, her hands shaking and her voice still thick with tears. She took in a shuddering breath before focusing back on the piano. "How about another song?" She asked before clearing her throat and beginning to play, but then she stopped. Steve worried she might cry again but she just smiled at him.

"Thank you, Steve."

"My pleasure, Rebecca."


	10. Chapter 10

_Music: "The Only Exception" by Paramore_

Since Rebecca had twisted her ankle and was now wearing a compression cast, the couple had decided to stay in that Friday. Rain was pattering on the window sills of the small apartment with the distant sound of traffic in the streets below. Rebecca and Steve were lying sprawled out on the small couch. Steve's arm was draped lightly over Rebecca's shoulder and she was curled up next to him, leaning slightly into him as she read her book. The hand that was draped over her shoulder was holding her hand, their fingers intertwining as Steve traced invisible patterns into the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Steve?" Rebecca asked catching his attention from the football game he was watching silently on the TV. He hummed a reply and looked down at her, showing the green eyed girl that she had his attention. "What's your middle name?" She asked, dog earing her book before closing it.

"Grant. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," she said shrugging. "It's just, this guy in my book. His name is John Smith, but that's a really common name. Do you know how many John Smith's there probably are in this world? And he's not the Pocahontas John Smith, so what if someone mentioned him and people thought they were talking about that guy? Everyone would just be confused, and nobody ever mentions their middle name, so if the person talking about them never knew, well, then things would just be really confusing. Anyway, I was just wondering what your middle name was… in case there were any other Steve Rogers out there in the world." She winked at him before opening her book again.

"What's your middle name?" he asked.

"Dao," she said, not looking up from her book. "My parents said that was the middle name my birth parents gave me. It's a little weird. It means peach blossom, or star, or something like that," she said indifferently as she continued to read her book. Steve looked at her in surprise.

"I didn't know you were adopted." He said.

"Yeah, well it's not really much of a conversation starter. I don't like to talk about my parents much, if you haven't noticed," she said coldly, causing Steve to jump a bit. Rebecca's eyes widened and she looked up from her book.

"Sorry," she said, closing her book. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I just don't feel very comfortable talking about them." Steve closed his mouth and nodded. Rebecca sighed and got up, unlocking their intertwined hands as she left the couch, slightly limping with the heavy cast on her foot. Steve sat up as she walked into her bedroom. After a few seconds she emerged again with a picture frame in her hand. She sat down and handed the picture to him. "These are my parents."

The picture was of a happy family. They looked like they had just been to a fair of some kind. The man's hair was graying and he was wearing jeans and a button down, but had a large pink balloon hat on his head and a large teddy bear tucked to his side, and didn't look like he was enjoying it very much. The woman next to him also had dark hair and brown eyes and was wearing a light blue t-shirt and jeans, with a smile that seemed to sparkle as she looked at the camera. Although there were signs of aging around the woman's eyes, Steve knew she had been a woman of beauty. But she wasn't who caught his eye. It was the small child that was wrapped in her arms. The girl had strawberry blonde hair and a large stick of cotton candy in her hands, her face already covered in the sticky substance. That was Rebecca.

Steve looked up from the picture to Rebecca, and saw that she was looking at the picture like she was seeing it for the first time. "We had gone to the fair almost every day that summer. Mom always asked Dad to do the most ridiculous stuff, which he didn't want to do, but did anyway, because he loved her. It seems we rode almost every ride that year, well, every ride that a five year old could ride anyway." Rebecca smiled and took the picture delicately from his hands and looked at it for a few seconds before putting it on the coffee table.

"You looked happy," he said.

"Yeah, we were," Rebecca said, leaning back into the couch.

"So, their last names were West?" Steve asked, wondering if Rebecca's parents had kept her last name of her adopted parents like they had with her middle name.

"No," Rebecca said. "Their last names were Hamilton."

Steve smiled. "I like Rebecca West much more."

"Yeah, me too," she said, smiling back at him. As she looked back at him her smile slowly faded. Rebecca looked at him for a moment before she slowly began to lean into him, her eyes not leaving his face as she leaned closer. When they were mere inches apart, her eyes drifted to his lips before they began to flutter shut and she leaned in, pressing her warm lips to Steve's chapped ones. For a moment she was lost, completely lost in what she was doing. But when Steve didn't reciprocate, she came back to reality and stopped. Rebecca pulled her lips quickly away from his and stood up from the couch, distancing herself from him, as if that would save her from the embarrassment. What was she doing? It was like she was completely out of control of her own body. What had she done? And the worst part, Steve hadn't even responded, hadn't even made a single move to her to show that he felt the same. But she thought he had. She was so sure with the way he had been acting that he cared for her. But she guessed she was wrong. Steve didn't feel the way she did. Not at all.

Rebecca heard him get up, but she didn't turn around. Her arms were wrapped around her chest, as if that would help ease the pain from the heartbreak. Steve placed a hand around her arm and pulled her to turn around and face him. Her arms dropped to her sides when she saw the blue storm that was Steve Roger's eyes. He ran his fingers delicately down to her hand, causing the hairs on Rebecca's arm to stick up slightly with the spark that happened every time he touched her.

Steve leaned his head down slowly and hesitated for merely a second before plunging down and kissing her. It was soft, and gentle, yet shy, as if it was his very first. Before Rebecca can respond, he pulls away, and stands back to his full height, which towers over her. Steve looked down at Rebecca and his heart fluttered. How could a woman so beautiful fall for a man like him?

"I don't understand," she said. "I thought you…"

"No, you just surprised me, that's all. I wasn't expecting to be kissed today," he said and Rebecca smiled.

"Expect the unexpected," she said with a ghost of a smile reaching her lips. She suddenly felt so much lighter, realizing that Steve really did care for her. This calls for a song, she thought, and led Steve over to sit at her piano. It was a bit hard to play with the boot on that she was wearing, but she learned to manage. Rebecca looked down at the keys of the piano for only a moment before she began to play a happy tune. She hummed for a few seconds before she began to sing.

Steve was entranced; she could play the piano and sing. And although Rebecca didn't sing as good as she could play, she still sounded beautiful. Her song told a story of a girl who was afraid to love because of who she was. A girl who no longer believed in love, and was afraid to settle. But then the girl found someone who she loved, someone who broke down her walls and made her believe in love again.

"That sounds beautiful," he said as the song ended.

Rebecca placed her hands in her lap and looked up at him as she slumped back into her seat. "It's 'The Only Exception,' by Paramore. It's one of my favorite songs."

Steve made a mental note to check out this Paramore when he got home.

Rebecca sighed and looked around the apartment before looking back at Steve. "Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked.

"Sure."

"Okay," she said, getting up and hobbling to where the TV was. Steve followed quickly after her, wishing that she would wait for him to help her wherever she needed to go. But of course she wouldn't allow it. Rebecca had to do it herself, and refused to have help from anyone else. The redhead bent down and looked at the tray of CDs and DVDs in a shelf in the TV stand. "How about watching the Star Wars movies?" She asked, looking back at Steve as he walked over to the couch. He nodded his head and sat down. That would be another thing he can mark off his list to check out. Rebecca quickly put the movie in, smiled and made her way over to the couch and sat down.

"I've actually never watched these. So this'll be nice," she said, leaning into Steve as the movie began to play.

Crash! Steve woke with a start and sat up. The steady rain that had started earlier that day had now turned into a storm in the night. Dark clouds had formed and Steve could hear the strong wind knocking the trees from side to side, crashing and cracking their strong limbs. The TV had lost its signal and was now playing snow as the storm brewed. A high-pitched howling sounded from the storm.

Lightning lit up the sky, casting eerie shadows around the apartment. The Captain looked over to Rebecca to see that she was asleep. "How could she sleep through this booming?" Steve thought, but then saw that she wasn't sleeping so soundly. Her body contorted sporadically and in crazy angles and a whimper escaped her throat. She jerked at such a quick pace that it was almost inhuman. "Rebecca, Rebecca wake up!" Steve said and grabbed her shoulders, only to be shocked by some kind of yellow electricity.

He jerked his hands away and looked at Rebecca with fear in his eyes. Her body contorted upwards and she cried out in pain as her body began to vibrate. Steve grabbed her shoulders again and pushed her down on the couch, ignoring the electricity that repeatedly shocked him. He had to do something. Something he'd promised never to do to a woman. He slapped her.

Rebecca's body went limp and she fell back onto the couch, the electricity stopped, and Steve hesitantly released his grip. He feared the worse of her, but then her chest began to rise and her eyes began to flutter open.

"Steve?" Rebecca asked as she sat up shakily and placed a hand to her temple in pain. "What are you doing here?"

"We must have fallen asleep on the couch. I woke up with the storm and you had this terrible fit. Rebecca, what happened?" He asked, as he hovered over her, his dark blue eyes filled with so much worry for her. Rebecca used her arms to sit up, still weak from what happened. Steve helped lay her back and then sat back down so he was no longer hovering over her.

Rebecca squeezed her hands tightly together in an attempt to stop them from shaking and she tried to mask them by folding them together. Steve noticed her hands and put his hands over them. They felt like ice! "Rebecca… please…"

Rebecca sighed and looked down, before her eyes flitted back over to Steve. Her strawberry blonde hair fell into her face and she took in a shaky breath. "This happens every time there's a thunderstorm. I don't know why, but my body doesn't respond well to them. Never has. I don't know if it was an existing condition, but my parents always had to deal with it, from the moment they adopted me. But the fits have only been getting worse. Sometimes it's hard to wake up and I always have these terrible nightmares. But I never remember what they're of; I only know that they're bad." Steve frowned.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault," Rebecca said, smiling at him.

"What do you do after these… episodes?" Steve asked, hesitating to find a proper word for whatever Rebecca was going through.

"I'm never able to go back to sleep, so I just stay up. It's actually not too bad. I drink some hot chocolate, can get some work done, read a book, watch some TV, the only bad part is I'm tired the next day." Rebecca said, trying to build a smile for Steve. "Anyway, you should probably go. Sorry you had to see that." Rebecca said as she got up and opened the door to the apartment.

"I'm staying," Rebecca turned around surprised and saw that Steve hadn't moved from the couch.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm staying," he said, "if you'll allow me."

"What? Why?" Rebecca asked surprised. Steve got up and closed the door. Facing her, he said, "Rebecca, I'm not leaving you alone, especially with this storm," he said protectively. Rebecca sighed, knowing his word was final, and smiled. How could she deserve such a great guy like Steve?

"Alright," she said, making her way to the kitchen, turning on the light, and taking out the stuff to make hot chocolate.

"I'll make it," Steve said, standing behind her. "you just tell me what to do." Rebecca craned her head to see that Steve had a stern look on his face before a small smile poked through.

"Oh, okay," the red head said, and walked away to sit down at the small kitchen table. Rebecca smiled as she began to instruct her boyfriend on how to make hot chocolate. Her green eyes gleamed with a newfound happiness as she watched Steve work. She was glad God had given her such a great guy like Steve Rogers.


	11. Chapter 11

Red and orange leaves flew down from the trees that crisp, autumn afternoon as Rebecca walked home from the café. She was bundled up in a coat and scarf, a cup of coffee grasped tightly in her hands. Winter was right around the corner. Steve was gone. Out of town on some sort of mission that Rebecca couldn't know about. It bothered her that he had to keep so many secrets, but she loved him too much to tell him why. Marina told her to not let it bother her too much. That Sam kept secrets from her too. It was just something that came with the job, and sadly, something that came with the relationship. But something told Rebecca that Marina knew more about the situation than she did.

Reaching her apartment door, the red head shifted the hot beverage to her other hand and brought out her keys from her purse. The keys jingled in the door knob before the door squeaked open. Making her way into the small apartment, Rebecca closed the door before placing her coffee on the counter and shifting through the mail. Rebecca sighed sadly. Steve said he'd only be gone for a few days, but it had been weeks. She hadn't heard a word from him, not a phone call or a text message, not even a simple letter telling her that he was okay. Rebecca cast away the mail, tossed her purse on the counter and walked into her room, her black compression cast sliding against the hard wood floor.

She emerged moments later with her red coat still on and a large card board box in her hands. She placed the box on the rug by the TV before going back in her room and grabbing another. In a few minutes her living room was filled with large boxes and files scattered across the floor. After taking off her coat and scarf and putting them on the coat rack, she tied up her hair and began working.

An hour later, Rebecca was sitting Indian style on the floor with files scattered around her. She rested her head in the palm of her hand and sighed, her eyes red from exhaustion and tears. Emily was nagging her for months to look through her parents' stuff, and now that she had started, Rebecca realized how hard it was.

She could smell the musk of the old paper and ink. The files hadn't been looked at in years. Most of the stuff had been useless information about her parents' work, but then she came across an interesting file. The file looked different from the others, and had the word, "classified," in bold red stamp on the front. Rebecca pulled out the file and opened it.

What she saw surprised her. The file dated back to March 1941 and had details of a super soldier experiment on a young man named… Rebecca gasped and reread the line again. The young man's name was Steve Rogers, born July 4th 1918. At first, Rebecca didn't believe it. It couldn't be the same man. There was no way. But, all the information in the file lined up. Full name: Steven Grant Rogers, son of Sarah and Joseph, born in Brooklyn, New York.

"That could just be a coincidence right?" She thought. "There's no way. This isn't possible…" But then she saw the picture. The picture was old and faded, but Rebecca could still see well enough to know who it was. He looked smaller… but there was no mistaking it. Steve Rogers, her Steve Rogers, was Captain America. Rebecca didn't realize her hands had begun to start shaking until they'd caused her to drop the file onto the floor. She quickly stood up and backed away from the files. A knock came from the door and startled her, causing her to bump into the kitchen counter before she made her way to the door. Turning the knob with shaking hands, she saw the last person she wanted to see that day.

"Steve." She said, closing the door slightly to block his vision from her apartment. "What are you doing here?" Steve's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"I got back from my mission. Have you been crying?" He asked, reaching out a hand. Rebecca jerked away from him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Don't pretend like you care, Steve…" She said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You… you kept secrets from me." She narrowed her eyes and began backing away.

Realization came over the Captain's face and instead of defending himself like Rebecca thought he would, he just stood there. "You found out," he said flatly.

"Like hell I found out!"

"I'm sorry, Rebecca. I never meant…"

"Oh, cut the crap, _Captain!_ You never meant for me to find out," she spat and slammed the door shut.

"Please, Becca just let me explain," He said through the closed door. There was silence, Steve hung his head and began to walk away.

"Fine," said a quiet voice. Steve turned back. Rebecca was standing in the door way of her apartment. He gave a small smile and walked in. Files were strewn across the apartment. Steve looked around before looking down at Rebecca. The small woman looked totally defeated as she walked toward the couch and sat down. She rubbed her hands across her face and sighed.

Steve sat next to her and waited patiently for Rebecca to start. "My parents, they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The day they died was the day the agency fell. After the funeral, I inherited everything they owned, including these files. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D would come by and collect them, but no one ever did." Rebecca leaned back into the plaid couch. "So, I told you my secret, now why don't you explain to me why you never told me yours."

Steve sighed and looked down at his lap. "I was afraid. I was afraid that once you found out…" He stopped, afraid that if he confessed his fears, they might come true. Rebecca didn't move, still annoyed that he had kept this big secret from her. "I was going to tell you. God, there were so many times when I wanted to tell you, but there was never a right time. And with what you went through with the thunderstorms… I just- I just couldn't add that to your plate."

"Steve…" Rebecca said, reaching out her hands.

"No, let me finish," Steve said, pulling away. "I should have been honest with you, but I was afraid. Rebecca, I was afraid of what would happen to you once you found out. These are dangerous waters. Once people find out about you, you're world won't be the same. People will constantly try to hurt you to get to me and I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't put you in that world, that danger."

"Steve," Rebecca said, placing her hands on his knees. ""I'm not mad at you for wanting to protect me. I'm mad at you for lying to me, because I care about you. And d I'd rather be in that danger and be with you than be safe and lose you. Do you understand?" She asked, looking into Steve's blue eyes. Although Steve didn't agree with putting Rebecca in danger, he nodded. Once Rebecca was in this world, she couldn't escape it. She smiled, causing the freckles around her face to move. She placed her hands on his shoulders before threading them through his soft blonde hair.

Rebecca pulled Steve's face down to hers and gave his a chaste kiss. "We're in this together."


	12. Chapter 12

Music was playing throughout the small DC apartment. Rebecca was spinning around the kitchen, excited to finally be free of her compression cast. There was a knock at the door, but was unheard the droning of the music. Rebecca didn't see someone enter the apartment until she turned around. The redhead was startled for a moment before realizing who it was. "Steve, I didn't expect to see you!" Rebecca shouted over the radio. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down embarrassed.

"You said I could come in if I needed to talk to you… I, uh, knocked on the door…" Steve began to mumble an apology as Rebecca walked over to her speakers and turned off the music.

"No, no, it's fine. What did you need to ask me?" She asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter.

Captain America walked quickly through the halls of the new Avengers facility, trying to communicate to Tony wear Loki's scepter might be. The Captain had just come from a mission raiding another remaining Hydra facility and of course the mission had proven unsuccessful… again. It seemed Loki's scepter didn't want to be found. Steve had been in such a rush to talk to Tony that he'd only had enough time to take off his helmet before finding the billionaire. Tony, of course, was in jeans and an AC/DC shirt, too busy bothering Steve about his love life with Rebecca than actually getting suited up and looking for the scepter.

"I really think that the scepter would be in a Hydra facility that's not known on SHIELD's list. They're getting smarter; they know we're looking for it, that's why we need to get everyone together, Bruce, Thor, Widow, the whole team. We need to… Are you even listening to me?" Steve asked, looking down at Tony with a glare.

"Of course I was listening to you Spangles. You want to get the band back together," Tony said, grabbing a tablet from an assistant and flipping through a couple of pages of complex equations. "But we can do that later. Right now I want to meet that mysterious girlfriend of yours. I mean, she already knows you jump around and fight crime, shouting patriotic things in a suit that is far too small for you. Why don't you go ahead and let her meet the friends? Say," Tony said, snapping his fingers. "Pepper and I are going dancing and dining tonight in DC, right up your alley. And we just happen to have two extra tickets. You should invite that girl. Rebecca was her name? We'll pick you up at your apartment at 8." Tony said before entering the elevator and closing the doors, leaving no room for Steve to argue.

"Sure! I'd love to go," she said ecstatically, already beginning to run into her room to find something to wear.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked. "Because, I mean, if you don't want to go," Steve said, following Rebecca into her room.

"Of course I want to go. Why wouldn't I? I assume I need to wear something nice, considering it's THE Tony Stark and the Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts," she said quickly, rummaging through her closet as quick as possible, trying to find something to wear." Rebecca's voice began to accelerate so much that Steve only picked up on every other word. This tended to happen when she got excited.

Steve leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. "Are you sure? Because it might be boring and you know how nice restaurants never provide enough food. Like the portions are smaller than my palm and cost so much. I mean there might not even be anything to talk about…" Rebecca slowly stopped what she was doing and looked up at Steve. He was looking down at the wood flooring, mumbling excuses about not going. Rebecca put down the dress she was looking at and walked over to the soldier. She threaded her fingers through his hands and Steve looked up at her.

"It'll be fun. I want to see your friends. Whom you work with," Rebecca said as she wiggled her eyebrows at the suggestion of Steve's "work." The redhead leaned into Steve with a smile. "Please?" Rebecca said, batting her eyelashes and pouting. Steve gave a light chuckle and placed his free hand to the side of Rebecca's face. Rebecca hummed and leaned into Steve's hand. "Don't worry. It'll be fun."

An hour later a long black limo pulled out of the apartment building and a knock came to Rebecca's apartment door. Rebecca grabbed her clutch from her room and walked over to the door, her purple heels clicking against the hardwood. When she opened the door she saw Steve facing her. He was wearing a black suit and dark pants, but the top two buttons of his white collared shirt were unbuttoned and he was without a tie. Steve's dirty blond hair was combed neatly to the side and a slight smell of after shave loomed around him. He looked straight out of a GQ magazine. Rebecca could read the title now, "America's Hottest Patriot." Suddenly, she felt slightly belittled. Steve was gorgeous. How could such a man fall for a girl like her? Steve has so much potential, she thought. He's out saving the world every day and here I am. The poor orphan girl with no purpose but to pay off the next bill. Rebecca sighed and looked down. Maybe meeting Steve's friends wasn't such a good idea after all.

Steve paused at the doorway, his mouth slightly open as he guffawed at the sight before him. Rebecca looked absolutely stunning, he thought. Her dress hugged her in such a way that not only brought out her curves, but also added a sense of elegance as well as modesty and her red hair was curled and pinned back to one side. Rebecca glanced up at Steve through her thick eyelashes. Her forest green eyes were glimmering. "You look beautiful," he said, and she smiled.

"Thank you," she said, snaking her arm through his and closing the door behind her. "You look especially dapper. Is that a new suit?" She asked. Steve smiled as they walked down the hallway and to the limo outside.

Standing by the long black limo was a dark haired man with a very intricate beard and a woman beside him. The woman had the same hair color as Rebecca and, while the man had an air of arrogance, the woman had a sense of importance. There was no doubt that this was Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Rebecca walked nervously over to the couple, but she wasn't nervous because they were rich and famous, but because they were Steve's friends and she wanted to make a good impression.

Steve wound his hand into Rebecca's hand discretely and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't be nervous. Just treat them like normal people."

Rebecca looked up at him. "I'm not nervous because Tony's Iron Man and Pepper's the CEO of the largest corporate company in the world. I'm nervous because they're your friends," she whispered back as they approached the couple.

"It's nice to meet you Becky," Tony said, sticking out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Stark. But, please, it's Rebecca," she said, shaking his hand. She never liked that nickname. The only one she ever really liked was Becca and the one she hated the most was the bird noise people liked to call her in high school. How people thought Becaahh was a good nickname, she'll never know.

Tony pursed his lips and thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I think I'll call you Becky," he said before getting into the limo and turning his attention toward Pepper. Rebecca rolled her eyes as she got into the car. Steve chuckled.

The event was in a grand ballroom made of white marble and stone columns. Great red curtains were draped around the room. A jazz band was setting up on stage as people filed in, men in sharp suits and women in elegant gowns. The tables were dressed in white table clothes and sparkling dishes. This was nothing like Rebecca had ever seen. She'd never been high enough in the social ladder to actually be invited to these things. She looked over at Steve and smiled. "Excited to be here Becky?" Tony asked as he buttoned up his suit jacket and walked over to their table. Rebecca rolled her eyes and followed after Tony and Pepper to their seats.

Once there, a man in a tuxedo came to the microphone on stage and welcomed everyone. "I'm Joe Robertson, and I'll be your host for tonight. We have a lovely band playing the most famous of Frank Sinatra for you tonight as well as a lovely dinner course provided by Washington's best chefs. So, please, sit back, and enjoy the night." The man smiled before leaving the stage and a fast beat song began to play. A large smile spread over Rebecca's face as she turned to look at Steve. "Oh no, I don't think-"

"Oh, please Steve. Please?" Rebecca begged, pulling at the Captain's hand. Steve looked over to the band before looking back at Rebecca. He paused for a moment before smiling and nodding. Rebecca squealed and almost jumped with excitement before pulling Steve onto the dance floor with her. Tony watched the two as Rebecca pulled into Steve's arms, a smile illuminating the Captain's face as he spun her around. Rebecca threw her head back and her nose wrinkled as she laughed. In all the time Tony had known Steve, he had never seen him as happy as he looked right now. Tony looked over at Pepper and pulled out his hand. Pepper smiled at him and took his hand, the two ready to dance the night away.

About half an hour later, the music slowly came to a close, and the host came back on to the stage. "Don't worry. The music will begin soon," he said smiling. "But for now, we're going to slow things down a bit. Your servers are going to bring around your salad, but for now, we have a bit of entertainment." Everyone sat down, and as the man exited the stage, another man in a magician's suit and top hat appeared.

"Good evening folks!" The man said as he spun around and laughed. "Tonight I'll be performing a magic trick, but first I'll need a volunteer. Hmmm…" The magician pointed his finger and looked around the crowd. "How about… you!" He shouted, pointing at Rebecca. The waitress looked around and pointed to herself.

"Me?" She asked and the magician nodded.

"Yes, you!" The entertainer said. And two burly men came beside Rebecca and all but hurled her toward the stage. Rebecca looked back at Steve and he stood up, about to follow her when Tony stopped him. "Stand down, soldier. It's just a harmless magic trick." Steve looked back before slowly sitting back down. Something about this just didn't seem right to him.

Rebecca was hauled on to stage and looked over at the magician. A strange smile spread over his face as he pulled Rebecca to a small black box and trapped her in, with only her neck and head free. Steve and Tony noticed that large men began to surround the exits.

The man on the stage twisted the shelves of the black box, tapped them with his wand, and opened them up. Rebecca was still in one piece, the three sections of her still in the correct place. The magician looked toward the crowd and began to laugh. "I suppose I'm not a magician after all." The crowd laughed. The magician let Rebecca out of the box and grabbed her by the arm. "I suppose I'll have to go about with my plan of stealing your money." The crowd's laughter began to quiet and Tony looked over toward Steve with worry.

"Don't think I'm serious?" He asked with a grin. In one swift motion he pulled out a handgun and shot the nearest person in the crowd.

The people began to scream and panic, and as some got out of their seats the maniac magician fired a shot into the air. Everyone ducked and screamed. Rebecca shoved the man holding on to her and managed to be free of his grasp, but he reached out and grabbed onto her strawberry blonde hair. With a sharp yank, he pulled her back towards him. Rebecca cried out and held onto her head, trying to ease the pain.

"Try to do that again and I'll kill you," he seethed, leaning down towards her. "Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Rebecca whimpered, struggling in his grip in an ill attempt to ease the pain. The maniac looked back toward the crowd as the heavy men Steve noticed earlier began to make their way to each table with a burlap sack in their hands. "Hand over all of your valuables to the nice men, and if I see one valuable not in those lovely sacs, the lady gets it!" He cackled, before jerking onto Rebecca's hair again.

Her cry sent a sharp pain to Steve's heart and he got up quickly from his chair. "I'm going to kill him," he growled, ready to attack the man who dare raise a hand to her. An arm went around Steve, stopping him from going forward. He looked over and saw Tony with a hesitant expression.

"We need to make a plan first." Leave it to Tony to decide now to make a plan. "We can't go fighting this guy in our civilian clothes. Let's suit up. I'll take the job of getting these people out of here; you work inside to get to Rebecca. Ready?" Steve nodded and they set off to take the maniac down. Tony kissed Pepper on the cheek before they ran off.

Iron Man helped escort the scared crowd out of the building as Captain America worked inside to get to Rebecca. Steve knocked every man down that came at him with his shield, dead set on getting Rebecca back in his arms safely. He almost had her in his sight when a burly man ran at him with a knife.

The man threw jabs at the Captain, but Steve was able to dodge his attempts. He knocked the knife out of the assailant's hands with his shield and pushed him back. The man growled in anger before charging. The man kicked at his shield, trying to find a way to break through and attacked the Avenger. The man was strong and somehow managed to knock the famous shield out of his hands. "I don't have time for this!" He shouted in his mind, an anxiety building up in him that he wouldn't get there in time to save Rebecca. The maniac magician's plan hadn't worked, and he had to be upset about it.

"Need help Cap'n?" Tony asked, flying overhead, shooting blasts at any goon that tried to attack.

"No!" Steve shouted, grabbing the man attacking him and kicking him repeatedly in the gut. The man tumbled away before Steve ran back at him and began throwing elbow jabs at the man, trying to knock him down. The man kicked and punched at Steve, and was actually able to land a few punches. Steve sent a round house kick to the man's face , it wasn't enough to knock the man down, but it was enough to distract him. As the man stumbled away, Captain America was able to grab his shield and as the big man got up, Captain threw his arm out and hit the man with his shield, knocking him out cold.

Steve then ran quickly toward Rebecca. She was tied up and had a gag over her mouth, her eyes glossy and her face was wet from shed tears.

"I'm going to get you out of here Rebecca," he said, pulling down the handkerchief from her mouth and beginning to untie the ropes.

Rebecca smiled for a second before she looked up and shouted, "Cap, look out!" The crazy magician from earlier ran toward him with a giant saw you might see to cut someone in half during a magic act and Steve threw his shield, knocking the guy away.

The police rushed in and began taking away the criminals as Steve untied Rebecca and gathered her up in his arms. Rebecca was so relieved in his arms again, that she began to laugh. But her laughing slowly turned into a quiet sob and Steve wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

Tony and Pepper approached the two and Steve's arms loosened around Rebecca, and he settled for holding her hand. It wasn't just to comfort Rebecca, but was also a sense of assurance to Steve. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea that this was going to happen." Tony said, now free of his armored suit.

"It's okay," Rebecca said quietly as she clung onto Steve's arm, still unraveled about the whole ordeal.

"We can take you home if you like."

"That's okay Tony, but I think it'd be better if we took a cab home." Steve said, and Tony nodded.

As the couple turned to leave, Pepper reached out and placed a gentle hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "I know this didn't turn out at all the way we would have liked it, but I hope that we'll still be able to hang out again sometime and hopefully become friends." Pepper gave a warm smile and Rebecca nodded, trying to give her best smile in return.

As the couple walked down the hallway to their apartments, they were in complete disarray. Steve was now in the outfit he had left the apartment in, but part of his shirt was untucked and it looked as if he hadn't aligned the buttons correctly, and the buttons were in the wrong spot, causing the whole shirt to be crooked. Rebecca didn't look any better. Her purple dress was now wrinkled and her heals were in her hand and a large knot was in her hair from where the Maniac Magician had yanked. They stopped at the door to Rebecca:s apartment.

"Well, that was certainly the most eventful double date I've ever been to," Rebecca said, giving a light laugh.

"It's not funny Rebecca, you could have been seriously hurt!" He said, lifting her arms gently to examine the red marks on them from the rope she had been tied with.

"I know, I know!" She said, pulling her arms away from him and looking away. Steve sighed.

"I just, I don't know what i would do if I ever lost you." He said, looking away.

"Steve," he didn't look at her. "Steve." Rebecca reached up and placed her hands on the side of Steve's face, forcing him to look at her. "You are not going to loose me. I promise."

Steve didn't reply and kicked the ground as Rebecca began to bring out her keys and unlock the door. As she did so, Steve grabbed Rebecca's arm and turned her around to face him. He placed a hand under Rebecca's chin and tipped her lips up to reach his in a gentle kiss. Rebecca's hand rested on his strong chest and the other on the back of his neck, deepening the kiss to one of passion. Steve pulled her closer, afraid that if he let go, she would be ripped from him once again.

The new director of SHIELD was at his desk when an agent came in and handed him a file. "Those updates you wanted on File Thunderstorm came in today Director Coulson, you might want to see this," the agent said as she slid the file onto his desk. "There's something on the news you might want to see as well," Agent May said, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. A woman on the news was speaking. "A social gathering of America's finest in Washington DC last night led to a hostage situation that almost turned sour. Luckily, two of Earth's Mightiest Heroes were able to stop the situation and successfully turned the perpetrator over to the local police. But there seems that there was more involved in this situation than first perceived."

A video of Captain America showed on-screen holding a young woman with red hair in his arms. "The couple seems to be pretty close," the anchor said as Captain America pushed a strand of hair away from the woman's face and embraced her.

"Does America's favorite patriot have a new sweet heart? Who is this mystery woman and how does she know Captain America? And more importantly, where can I pick up an Avenger?" The anchor woman laughed as she turned to her other co hosts. "Like is there a store where I can purchase one or…"

Coulson shut off the TV and spun back to face his desk. May crossed her arms and left as he picked up the Thunderstorm file and looked through it before picking up the phone and dialing a number. After a long code of numbers was said, the line picked up.

"Hello?"

"Director Fury, we might have a problem."

 ****end of chapter!****

 **Ugh, finally a chapter update! This story is finally speeding up. So, any guesses on what File Thunderstorm is? And, really Rebecca? You shouldn't make promises you can't keep. *smirks**


	13. Chapter 13

The sound of jingling keys echoed through the small Washington apartment. A few moments later the doorknob rattled and a tall man entered the darkened apartment. Not bothering to flick on the lights, he threw his keys into the small ceramic bowl on his kitchen table and began heading toward his room. He stopped when he felt the odd sensation that someone was watching him. He heard the sound of two leather cushions squeaking as someone shifted on his couch. Slowly releasing his grip on the doorknob to his room, he turned. In his joyful stupor, he had failed to notice that someone was already in his apartment.

In one swift movement, he barrel-rolled and grabbed his shield. Preparing to launch the famous stripped weapon at the perpetrator, he halted when the light by his couch flickered on. In the illumination, it was revealed that the man on the couch was none other than the former Shield Director, Nick Fury himself.

He was no longer in his famous leather trench coat and eye patch, but instead opting for a hoodie and some dark sunglasses, even in this dark hour. The corner of his mouth quirked up. "It shouldn't be so easy to sneak up on a super soldier." He paused and draped an arm over the back of the couch. "It seems you're off your game, Captain."

Steve slowly lowered his weapon and stood up. "Why are you here?" He asked.

Fury rose from his seat and approached the soldier. "It seems you've made a new friend," he said as he slid a picture out of the file in his hands and pushed it towards Steve. The picture was of Steve and Rebecca at the gala only a few hours ago.

"Shouldn't you be keeping a low profile?" He asked.

Steve's jaw tightened and a moment passed before he countered with, "shouldn't you be in hiding?" A dry chuckle left Fury's mouth and he nodded slowly.

"That's true, but I think this time it's an exception." His voice turned serious and his forehead creased. "It seems you've gotten in bed with someone you don't know anything about."

Steve's grip on his shield tightened and Fury quickly added, "metaphorically, of course." The former SHIELD director paced in the small amount of space between the Captain and the couch before turning back around. "You probably already know that Miss West' parents were SHIELD agents, but that's not the whole picture. There's more you need to know." Steve's face hardened.

Fury handed Steve the file that had been held tightly between his hands. Steve looked down at the file, his mouth set in a hard line as he read the title stamped in red on the front. "FILE: THUNDERSTORM." Slowly, he opened the folder and began reading its contents. After a few moments, he looked up.

"You think she's a speedster?" He asked, but Fury shook his head.

"We don't think. We know. But she's not a mutant, she's not an enhanced, not an Inhuman. She's something totally different. But we don't know what. All we know is that she has this thing in her that will allow her to travel at inhuman speeds."

Steve shook his head and looked back down at the file. It came as a surprise to him, but the more he thought about it, the more possible it sounded.

She loved roller coasters and motorcycle rides, she loved to run and ran at almost superhuman speeds that could even compete with the Captain's. And she healed quickly after that scrape with the bikes before.

"But how has she not shown stronger abilities?" He asked, closing the file and looking up at Fury. "As of now, she's a perfect human, just with a love of speed and a talent for running." Fury quirked his head, and a guilty smile drifted across his face. Steve's eyes narrowed and his shoulders stiffened. "What did you do?" He asked accusingly.

"When we found out about her… abilities we began to administer bimonthly shots, and medications as a… precautionary measure."

Steve's jaw tightened.

"But after SHIELD fell it became harder to procure the ingredients for the medications and now is impossible to administer them anyway, since Miss West has decided to stay away from anything Shield related since her parents died," Fury said, but Steve remained disbelieving at the new information. There was no way Rebecca had powers. He knew her and Rebecca West was not… whatever it was that she was.

"Have you not noticed how quickly she healed from that scrape from the bike riding?" Fury asked. Steve's eyes widened as he took a menacing step toward Fury.

"You've been keeping an eye on us?"

Fury chuckled. "Of course I have. SHIELD may not be as big as it was, but we still have eyes everywhere, protecting who and what we need to for the public safety."

"The public safety?" Steve asked sardonically, his grip tightening around his shield. "Rebecca is not a threat," he growled.

"You sure about that Rogers?" Fury asked, wrapping his hands around the hand Steve had on the front of his hoodie. Steve's expression softened and his hand dropped from Fury's jacket.

"She's an unknown case, something we've never encountered before and before we can understand it we have to take every measure possible to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone." Fury turned and sat back down on the couch. He propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Drop the shield Captain and sit down. I've got a story to tell."

A helicopter roared over the Pacific Ocean, its blades spinning at maximum to fight against the storm. Lightning clashed over head. "You sure you don't want to turn back?" The pilot said, not bothering to take his eyes off of the raging storm in front of him. The SHIELD agent looked away from the window to look hard at the pilot. "I'm sure," she deadpanned. Her grip tightened around her husband's hand before she turned back to look out the window.

The storm raged on around them. Gray waves crashed against each other as bullets of rain hit against the window. Monster clouds covered the sky and lightning fought against lightning. A large strike of lightning hit too close to the helicopter's engine and the sky lit up. The helicopter dove to the side as thunder sounded. The two agents braced themselves against the seats of the helicopter before the pilot was able to jerk back over to the side, righting the chopper once again.

What was SHIELD pulling them into?

 **To be continued…**


End file.
